Upcoming Horror Movie: Chernobyl Diaries

Chernobyl Diaries, a soon-to-be-released horror film penned by Oren Peli, the writer behind Paranormal Activity, depicts American tourist exploring the abandoned area of Chernobyl. If you skipped history class, Chernobyl is home to one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters a reactor exploded and forced some 350,000 people to evacuate the surrounding areas.

Since the evacuation, the abandoned areas have been ransacked, vandalized, and then, in 2002, turned into an extreme tourist location for visitors. According to Alcon Entertainment co-Chief Executive Andrew Kosove, the extreme tourism trips taken to Chernobyl are what inspired the making of Chernobyl Diaries.

The film follows a gang of American tourists who take a day trip out to Prypiat, the closest abandoned city to the Chernobyl reactor. They take photos, laugh about being wild and crazy, and generally show off their American attitude toward historic monuments. But when the sun sets and it comes time to leave, their tour guides car doesn’t start and they’re stuck in the city, which happens to be filled with ravenous mutants.